Hi Ron:
It's not that Ski didn't want the design published; it's just that he has other priorities in his life and has little to no time in which to draw the plans and write the article. Many here might not know that Ski is an expert in the field of Bonsai trees. Look up that subject on the web and you will see Ski's name a lot.
I kidded Scott Richlen a few posts up about not having submitted his very original, beautiful, and character-filled Silver Lancer for publication. I made the offer to Scott many times over the past 30 or so years. It's not that he didn't want to publish the design; it's just a matter of priorities... I fully understand how much work it is and how little return the author/designer sees from his or her efforts. True, if the design is published in one of the major magazines (and for CL that leaves only Model Aviation...) there is a stipend. It works out to about 50 cents per hour...
I guess we are all getting older and less prone to want to expend the energy and time required to produce a construction article. Most don't even have a clue about how much work it is to generate a good quality construction feature. Some have questioned the choices made by Model Aviation (and in the past Flying Models and Model Builder...) about the validity or viability of a design that appears in print. The truth is (and, this IS the truth...), they tend to print what they receive!
Another reason that many do not try to publish their designs is the fact that many who might build the model in question from plans are not capable of producing a light, straight, rigid, competent model. When the model does not perform up to their expectations, they sometimes blame the designer/author, and even the magazine for publishing a bad design. I know this has happened for a fact because one of my best friends published a Nats top-2 model and had that exact very negative response from a few who built his design from magazine plans. Long story short, I don't blame anyone for not publishing their designs if they choose not to.
I wish I could write a more upbeat and hopeful view of this situation...
Later - Bob Hunt